'Dub Weekly: Ully playing his way onto World Junior team radar

Ully wasn’t among the 41 players who were invited to Canada’s national junior team summer development camp Aug. 3-8 in Brossard, Montreal and Sherbrooke, Que.

That didn’t deter the 19-year-old Calgarian from training hard in the off-season prior to his fourth season with the Kamloops Blazers.

“I definitely focused on having a good start coming into the year,” said Ully, who was chosen as the WHL Player of the Month for September/October after scoring nine goals and adding 17 assists in his first 16 games of the season.

Ully’s performance also earned him an invitation to play for Team WHL in the Subway Super Series, which Hockey Canada scouts watch closely to help determine who will be invited to the national junior team selection camp in December.

From there, 22 players will be chosen to represent Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, to be held in Montreal and Toronto from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.

“Just to get added was a good feeling,” said Ully, who enjoyed the opportunity to suit up for Team WHL against the Russians. “I’ve never had the chance to play in any international competition.”

Kamloops coach Don Hay has been impressed with Ully’s play so far this season and was happy to hear he earned an invite to play for Team WHL.

“He deserves the opportunity to play with the best of the Western Hockey League players against the Russians and compete for an invite to the world junior camp due to his start,” said Hay, who returned to coach in his hometown following a 10-season stint as bench boss of the Vancouver Giants. “He’s really been a consistent player for us and he’s been a competitive player.”

Heading into the Super Series games — in Saskatoon on Monday and in Brandon on Tuesday — Ully said he just wanted to play his game.

“There’s a lot of skilled guys there and a lot of offensive guys,” said the fifth-round pick (131st overall) of the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL Draft, who tallied 30 goals and 42 assists in 69 games last season. “I’ll try to play an aggressive game and maybe a role game — just kind of do whatever I can out there to make an impression.”

Ully’s competitive nature paid off on Monday as he scored for Team WHL in the third period of a 3-2 shootout setback to the Russians. Ully added an assist during Tuesday’s game in Brandon, which Russia won 3-2 in regulation.

Whether Ully’s performance will earn him an invite to December’s national junior team selection camp remains to be seen, but getting on Hockey Canada’s radar is a good start.

“Players mature and grow differently,” pointed out Hay, who coached Canada to a world junior gold medal in 1995 and a bronze in 2012. “You might not be on the radar over the summer for Hockey Canada, but to get off to a good start really gets you noticed and it piques their interest. Hockey Canada wants the best players that are available to compete for a position on the world junior team.”

Also of importance to Ully is helping the Blazers (9-9-3) lock down a playoff berth this season.

“Hopefully I can keep up my pace and my team can make it in the playoffs and be competitive and make a run,” said Ully, who returned to the Blazers’ lineup this past weekend after missing three games while battling a case of strep throat. “We’re a young team and we’re still learning. We’re definitely on the upward curve here this year.”

ICE CHIPS . . . Calgary Hitmen forward Jake Virtanen also scored for Team WHL on Monday against the Russians, while Hitmen defenceman Travis Sanheim had an assist on Ully’s goal . . . Calgarian Morgan Klimchuk, who plays for the Regina Pats, set up Victoria Royals defenceman Joe Hicketts for Team WHL’s first goal against the Russians on Tuesday, while Red Deer Rebels captain Conner Bleackley, of High River, scored the second . . . Calgary Flames prospect Rushan Rafikov set up Pavel Kraskovsky’s game-winning goal for Russia in a 3-2 result over WHL on Tuesday . . . Rourke Chartier, who plays for the Kelowna Rockets on a line with Calgarian Nick Merkley, was chosen as the Denny’s WHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 9, 2014. Chartier scored four goals and added four assists to lead the Rockets to three straight wins last week. The 18-year-old Saskatoon native led all WHL players with 18 goals through 18 games.

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